Today I attended the following with TheLangolier:
- Getting Started
- Bet Sizing
- Cash Basics

Hello Tangent678,

Just the 'Getting Started' session for now, the other sessions come later and you will have to attend them again later on in the promotion.

Also have a read of the >>Bankroll Builder<< article so that you know exactly what the promotion is all about.

As you will see the promotion is a cash game promotion only so SnG's or Tournament hands do not count.

We can see that you already know how to use the hand replayer and that's great.

Next Step

Now we want to get you playing on the real money tables. Next up, and spend some time on this one , study the Poker Basic Course and take the basic assessment quiz at the end of that course.

Once you have passed this quiz your first buy-in will be credited into your account within 24 hours of passing it. Remember you can earn up to a total of $8 with this promotion.

Use this first buy-in to then only play the 1/2 cent fullring real money tables only on PokerStars. Post back here when you pass the quiz, get your first buy-in and start playing these games and we'll continue on from there.

When you have passed the Poker Basic quiz please let us know and we can continue on from there.

Congrats on passing the quiz. Your first buy-in will be credited into your account within 24 hours. Remember you can earn up to a total of $8 with this promotion.

Use this first buy-in to then only play the 1/2 cent real money FULL RING tables on PokerStars. Do not play any other type of game other than this. Don't worry if you lose this first buy-in as you will be able to earn another buy-in should this happen.

Use all that you have learned so far to try some real money games (1/2 cent tables). Post any hands that you have difficulty with here in this thread using the hand replayer and we will analyze them for you.

Hand 3:
Cowboys, not sure what villain was doing donk betting his 66 on the flop. Any suggestions on how I played this? Maybe my re-raise on the flop was too low?

Hi Tangent,

Preflop raise sizing is good. When the villain donks out for a small bet like this, it is most typically a blocking bet or "see where I'm at" bet with a draw or 1 pair type hand. The caller isn't real scary either, so I like raising as you did. The only thing I would suggest here is raising more as you suspect with your question. You're giving him a good price to draw with this sizing... he has to call .14c into a pot of .64 so 4.5-1 which if he's got an open ended straight draw is a good imediate price, with implied odds to make more if he gets there. The other guy will be getting an even better price.

On the turn when a total blank comes off and he checks to you, I would just shove for value. You only have a pot sized bet left and he can call you with a lot of worse hands, TT, JJ, T9, etc. He might even call with the 66 since he has a pair and straight draw, so go ahead and extact that value from him while you're way ahead.

I put the villain on a pre-flop pair (mid-low), and my KQo missed the flop. Should I have done anything different when he checked to me on the flop?

Hi Tangent678

Opening with a raise from the btn looks good here with KQ. You have position on the sb. A read would help us define his calling range, but pocket pairs, Ax, plus plenty of broadway hands seem probable.

The A on the flop is scary, but it may be scary for the villain as well. You have position and the villain checks to you. This is a great spot to make a continuation bet (c-bet). You bet preflop and by betting the flop, it looks like you have an ace. I suggest betting half the pot. This bet has a very good chance of winning the pot. If the villain calls or reraises, then just check-fold the rest of the hand unless you improve.

C-betting is important to learn because it will help you win many small pot which help keep your stack healthy. Moreover, if you only bet the flop with your made hands, then opponents can pick up on this and exploit it. As a rough guide, you should cbet all of your made hands and about half of your missed hands. I think there are some videos in the library that discuss this in more depth.

C-betting works best when you have position and are facing one opponent.

Now it's time to study the Cash Game course and once your happy have a go at attempting the quiz. Don't rush through the course, there's a lot of content there and the quiz is tricky so spend some time on this.

Once you've passed the quiz post back here and we'll continue on tomorrow.

BTW: The first attempt at the quiz ended after the 6th question when I accidentally hit "Submit" instead of "Next". Might I suggest a "confirmation" prompt prior to actually submitting the quiz? It might prevent someone else from needlessly having to wait to redo it as I did.

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